{"id":40141,"date":"2022-10-29T09:34:17","date_gmt":"2022-10-29T13:34:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=40141"},"modified":"2022-10-29T09:34:23","modified_gmt":"2022-10-29T13:34:23","slug":"on-stage-extra-w-chester-native-actress-featured-in-new-ptc-production-the-tattooed-lady","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=40141","title":{"rendered":"On Stage Extra: W. Chester native actress featured in new PTC production, &#8216;The Tattooed Lady&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, <em>Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17071\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17071\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-17071\" src=\"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/thetattooedlady.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"233\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-17071\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The\u00a0Tattooed\u00a0Lady<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With this being Halloween Weekend, it is the perfect time for the staging of a world premiere of a new musical about a woman who is visited by ghosts.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Philadelphia Theatre Company (Suzanne Roberts Theatre,\u00a0480 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, <a href=\"https:\/\/nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philatheatreco.org%2F&amp;data=05%7C01%7C%7C20577913e0384062614d08daa6786f1e%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638005333442046921%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=t75oTFVk3a6SGY%2Bo0xYCly3IfOcMHJeEEGi2lWTMU%2Bg%3D&amp;reserved=0\">www.philatheatreco.org<\/a>) is about to bring the stage alive with the rock musical that celebrates empowering women and their autonomy. It is also a show that features an actress who grew up in West Chester.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe\u00a0Tattooed\u00a0Lady,\u201d which runs October 29-November 20, is a new musical by Obie Award-winning playwright Erin Courtney (Map of Virtue), Lortel-winner Max Vernon (KPOP on Broadway, The View Upstairs). It was developed and directed by Drama League-winner Ellie Heyman (Space Dogs) and choreographed by Mayte Natalio (How to Dance in Ohio).\u00a0 <!--more--><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The story of this new musical highlights one of sideshow\u2019s biggest stars, the fictional Ida Gibson, in a moving tale that reveals the generational chasms and connections between Gibson and her granddaughter Joy. A parade of beguiling characters returns from the dead on a mission to liberate Gibson from her self-imposed exile and help Joy find freedom through forgiveness. The musical celebrates the resilience of women whose choices have the power to liberate them.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For casting, PTC has assembled an all-star line-up of New York stage and screen veterans including Jackie Hoffman as the fictional famed\u00a0Tattooed\u00a0Lady Ida Gibson, Grace Slear (Jagged Little Pill),\u00a0Kim Blanck (Octet), James Dybas (Pacific Overtures), Ashley P\u00e9rez Flanagan (The Great Comet of 1812), Anastacia McCleskey (Caroline, or Change), Jessie Shelton (Hadestown), Katie Thompson (Oklahoma!), Sophia Ramos (Party People), and Maya Lagerstam.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe conception for this show started about five years ago,\u201d said Slear, during a phone interview Monday afternoon. \u201cI started getting involved this summer. I got an audition in my inbox. Prior to that, I knew nothing about the show.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI listened to the demos of the music, and I was instantly hooked. I thought \u2013 I must be in it. I also love the story. I auditioned in early summer and got a call back in July. That\u2019s when I met the team and sang to them. We started rehearsals in September. We just finished two weeks of tech. We\u2019re getting there. It\u2019s really exciting to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Slear, who grew up in West Chester and now lives in New York, graduated from the Center for Performing and Fine Arts through the Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School. They play Lady Viola and recently made their Broadway debut in \u201cJagged Little Pill.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI was born and raised in West Chester,\u201d said Slear. \u201cI went to the Center for Performing and Fine Arts in West Chester from sixth to 12th grades. I went to college in Boston at the Boston Conservatory. Then I went to New York for work and have been there ever since. I&#8217;m now living in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Slear most recently celebrated their Broadway debut in\u00a0Jagged Little Pill\u00a0in which they understudied the role of Jo. Grace\u2019s theatrical credits also include Urleen in Kennedy Center\u2019s\u00a0Footloose\u00a0directed by Walter Bobbie, the Stephen Brackett led New York workshop of\u00a0Refer Madness, and developmental readings of new musicals\u00a0A Girl and a Boy Dance\u00a0by Marshall Pailet, and\u00a0Black Box\u00a0by Matthew Lee Robinson and Scott Morris.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At home with large and intimate audiences, Grace has recently appeared in concert at 54 Below and Green Room 42. As part of performing arts training organization Broadway Dreams, Grace has served as an international Teaching Associate, having been mentored by their many industry leaders including Founder Annette Tanner and Emmy-nominated choreographer Spencer Liff.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis show is about the tattooed ladies of the 1800s and 1900s,\u201d said Slear. \u201cThey were the only people in freak shows that chose to be in a freak show. They weren\u2019t born different. They chose to get tattoos on their bodies.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIda is the oldest living \u2018Tattoo Lady.\u2019 She retired from being in freak shows and became a Christian woman living in suburbia.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe show is set in the 1800s\/1900s and Ida is in her 70s. The ghosts of tattooed ladies from the past visit her. They come out of a sideshow trunk.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIda hid from her past. She covered it all up and denied it was true. The ghosts are mad because she is dishonoring their past. For them, to have one of their own turn her back on them is horrific.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;It all takes place in Ida\u2019s living room. The ghosts transform her living room into a stage. The music is a spin on a rock musical \u2013 with some techno.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Video link for \u201cThe Tattooed Lady\u201d &#8212; <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/EJEryefSr14?list=TLGGpB7KqEUyeFAyODEwMjAyMg\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/EJEryefSr14?list=TLGGpB7KqEUyeFAyODEwMjAyMg<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe Tattoed Lady&#8221; is running now through November 20. Ticket prices start at $25.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17072\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17072\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-17072\" src=\"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/steve-kimock-350x233.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"233\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-17072\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steve Kimock<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A few weeks ago, Zero, featuring guitarist Steve Kimock and drummer Greg Anton, celebrated the 30th anniversary of the recording of their breakout song and album, \u201c<em>Chance In a Million\u201d with a show<\/em>\u00a0at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. The performance featured songs from the album, several covers and a selection of Zero\u2019s more contemporary material.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now, Zero is taking it on the road.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Zero\u2019s \u201c30th Anniversary &amp; Vinyl Release Tour\u201d featuring Steve Kimock, Greg Anton, Pete Sears, Spencer Burrows, Hadi Al Saadoon, Ron Holloway and John Morgan Kimock will visit the Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ardmoremusic.com\/\">www.ardmoremusic.com<\/a>) on October 29.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI don\u2019t know if you\u2019d call this a resurrection of Zero,\u201d said Kimock, during a recent phone interview from his home in the Lehigh Valley. \u201cIt depends on who you ask. One version is that Zero is always there but not super active.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Early in 1980, Kimock joined former Grateful Dead members Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux\u2019s Heart of Gold Band, which already happened to have Greg Anton as its drummer. Godchaux was injured in a car accident and the Heart of Gold Band went away, but the connection that Kimock and Anton shared has endured.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The duo immediately recorded an album of new music which would be released decades later, then started a band.\u00a0 Having gone through many, many names, Greg asked Steve how many were left on the list to consider: \u201cZero\u201d was the answer, and Zero became the quintessential jazz\/rock psychedelic band, a pioneer of the \u201cjam\u201d band scene.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They went years without vocals, creating such instrumental-only gems as\u00a0Here Goes Nothin\u00a0(1987) and\u00a0Nothin\u2019 Goes Here\u00a0(1990), albums so good that Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab re-released them, and then\u00a0Go Hear Nothin\u2019\u00a0(1991).\u00a0 Along the way they played with some of the Bay Area\u2019s greatest talent:\u00a0 John Cipollina, John Kahn, Banana, Martin Fierro, Hadi Al Saadoon, Bobby Vega, Nicky Hopkins, John Farey, Vince Welnick, Merl Saunders, Tony Saunders, Liam Hanrahan, Chip Roland, and Steve Wolf.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A casual conversation with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter in the early \u201890s sent the band in a new direction, and they added vocalist Judge Murphy.\u00a0 In 1992, when Zero gathered for three nights at the Great American Music Hall to perform their new songs with Hunter lyrics, they had Grateful Dead sound director Dan Healy on board to record them, and the result was the brilliant and beloved\u00a0Chance in a Million.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After reenlisting a potent lineup of some of the Bay Area\u2019s most revered instrumentalists, including\u00a0Nicky Hopkins\u00a0(The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who),\u00a0Vince Welnick\u00a0(The Tubes, Grateful Dead),\u00a0John Kahn\u00a0(Jerry Garcia Band),\u00a0Pete Sears\u00a0(Jefferson Starship),\u00a0Bobby Vega\u00a0(Santana),\u00a0John Cipollina\u00a0(Quicksilver Messenger Service), and\u00a0Martin Fierro\u00a0(Quicksilver Messenger Service, Legion Of Mary), Zero received positive feedback with their improvisation-fueled performances. It was the precursor for the modern jam band scene.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now, the Bay Area jam legends have released a new album, \u201cNaught Again,\u201d via\u00a0Omnivore\u00a0Recordings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNaught Again\u201d features a legendary performance recorded at San Francisco\u2019s\u00a0Great\u00a0American Music Hall\u00a0in 1992.\u00a0A set from the same run of shows was released in 1994 on the album, \u201cChance In a Million. Now, 30 years later, this previously unheard recording, which includes covers of\u00a0The Who,\u00a0Jimi Hendrix, and more, has been newly mixed by Emmy\u00ae-nominated engineer\u00a0Brian Risner\u00a0from the original multi-track tapes recorded by\u00a0Dan Healy\u00a0and\u00a0Don Pearson\u00a0(Grateful Dead).<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe impetus for this album \u2013 we had material still in the can from 30 years ago,\u201d said Kimock. \u201cThey were great sessions \u2013 so well recorded and the quality was insane.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI\u2019m not usually impressed by live recordings, but the quality of these recordings was great. I thought about remastering it. Brian Risner agreed to do it. Greg went back and listened and said \u2013 O.K., let\u2019s work on it. We were a pretty good stoned jam band and then we got all these songs with vocals.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWith the remixing, the raw footage had extraordinary quality. But I\u2019m glad mixing and mastering is not my job. Riz (Brian Risner) is the wizard. I\u2019m not that good on that side of recording. I\u2019m more into arranging, plating and getting onstage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kimock\u2019s signature sound is marked by his ability to articulate crystal-clear tone, melody and emotion into music crafted with technical brilliance. He always seems at his best when he is performing live.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you had to pick a genre for\u00a0Kimock\u2019s music, it would have to be \u201crock\u201d or, even better, \u201crock plus.\u201d Over the past few decades,\u00a0Kimock\u00a0has explored various styles based on where his head was at the time &#8212; blues, jam, funk, jazz, gypsy, prog-rock, traditional American, boogie, folk, psychedelic, or world fusion.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kimock\u00a0grew up in Bethlehem and then moved to northern California in the 1970s.\u00a0About 17 years ago,\u00a0Kimock\u00a0departed California and ended up back in Pennsylvania. Later, he changed coasts and, more recently, has come back to the Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI\u2019m back in Pennsylvania,\u201d said\u00a0Kimock. \u201cI have kids that are teenagers and I like the school system here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over the years,\u00a0Kimock\u00a0has built a legion of fans through touring and recording. His musical resume includes jamming with Jerry Garcia (the Grateful Dead guitar legend who, shortly before his death, called\u00a0Kimock\u00a0his \u201cfavorite unknown guitar player\u201d) and playing with musicians from the now-defunct Grateful Dead.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kimock\u00a0has performed with Bob Weir in Kingfish, with Vince Welnick in Missing Man Formation and with Phil Lesh in the Phil &amp; Friends. He has also played in the Heart of Gold Band with Keith and Donna Godchaux and has toured with Merle Saunders and Bruce Hornsby.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He also has recorded with a number of his own bands, including Steve\u00a0Kimock\u00a0Crazy Engine, the Steve\u00a0Kimock\u00a0Band, Praang and Steve\u00a0Kimock\u00a0&amp; Friends and Zero.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Video link for Zero \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/RF0to-7JRHI\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/RF0to-7JRHI<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The show at the Ardmore Music Hall will start at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tickets are $30.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17073\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17073\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-17073\" src=\"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/STOMP-350x263.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"263\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-17073\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">STOMP<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The musical stage show \u201cSTOMP\u201d has been playing to packed houses for almost 30 years and its popularity is showing no signs of waning. This weekend, \u201cSTOMP\u201d is visiting The Playhouse on Rodney Square (1007 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware,\u00a0<a href=\"about:blank\">www.BroadwayInWilmington.org<\/a>) for a limited performance engagement on October 29.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stage show \u201cSTOMP\u201d has its origins in busking, a British custom that dates back hundreds of years and features street performers. The show\u2019s creators Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas updated the tradition and created a theater piece that is very loud and very intense.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The structure is always there but approximately one-quarter of each performance is improvised. The cast of the national tour has the versatility \u2014 and the experience with the structure of the show \u2014 to keep it fresh and new for every performance.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI joined \u201cSTOMP\u2019 in 2016,\u201d said Jordan Brooks, during a recent phone interview from New York. \u201cThis tour is just starting. We\u2019re in York for tech, rehearsal, and a couple shows. Then, we come your way.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe tour ended in June, so we had a nice couple months break. The flagstaff production is running in New York, and I performed a week fill-in with it in August.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSTOMP\u201d is the winner of an Olivier Award for Best Choreography (London&#8217;s Tony Award), a New York Obie Award, a Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatre Experience, and a Special Citation from Best Plays. Other honors include an Academy Award nomination, four Emmy nominations and one Emmy Award for their acclaimed HBO special\u00a0\u201cStomp Out Loud,\u201d noteworthy TV appearances including\u00a0The London 2012 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony,\u00a0The Academy Awards\u00a0(produced by Quincy Jones),\u00a0Mister Rogers\u2019 Neighborhood, and a series of award-winning international commercials.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSTOMP\u201d is not your typical touring stage show.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSTOMP\u201d is a wordless show featuring a 12-member cast with energy to burn \u2014 a cast that creates beautiful music and sly humor with found objects such as Zippo lighters, push brooms, wooden poles, hammer handles, garbage cans, inner tubes, matchboxes and even the kitchen sink. It is a journey through sound, a celebration of the everyday and a comic interplay of characters wordlessly communicating through dance and drum.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSTOMP\u201d runs for just over an hour-and-a-half with no intermission. It features non-stop intensity, lot of movement and a whole lot of noise. To get an idea of what\u2019s happening in the show, picture a group of athletic dancers acting like a group of young kids left unsupervised in a kitchen after drinking a 16-ounce glass of Jolt (a soda that pre-dated energy drinks and boasted \u201call the sugar and twice the caffeine\u201d)<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The cast characters are Ringo, Particle Man, Doctor Who, Cornish, Mozzie, Sarge and Potato Head.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe have eight characters in the show,\u201d said Brooks. \u201cOne is comedic. The other characters are dance driven with big movement.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI\u2019m the rehearsal director and a lead performer. My primary role is Sarge. He\u2019s the first character that comes onstage. Sarge sweeps the stage in the iconic broom number.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSarge also has a lot of audience interaction. When I first joined the show in 2016, I came in as Potato Head. Most of my background is in drums and percussion. My skills translated easily into the show.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brooks, a native of Dallas, Texas, attended Berklee College of Music where he double majored in Percussion Performance and Contemporary Writing and Production. He later went on to receive his master\u2019s degree in Percussion Performance at New York University. In 2012, Brooks came to the Santa Clara Vanguard as a tenor drum transfer from the Blue Knights of Denver, CO. The next year he served as tenor section leader within the drumline and went on to receive the Mike Laporta Percussion Award before aging out at the end of the summer.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI grew up in a household where my dad played drums and piano,\u201d said Brooks.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u201cThey put me in piano from age 5-14. When I was around 12, I realized that I\u2019d really just like to be a drummer. I put all my musical effort into drums.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI was in marching band and jazz band in high school. Then, I got into drumline. I studied percussion and arranging at Berklee and then got my master\u2019s degree from N.Y.U. Being a part of \u2018STOMP\u2019 is great. I love theater because of the real time aspect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0Video link for \u201cStomp\u201d \u2014\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/a6X_idq-lyM\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/a6X_idq-lyM<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cStomp\u201d will play The Playhouse on Rodney Square on October 29 at 2 and 8 p.m.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ticket prices start at $40.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In contrast to the plethora of music shows the Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.st94.com\/\">www.st94.com<\/a>) presents, the number of comedy shows it hosts is relatively small.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That means if the Sellersville Theater books a comedy act to headline a show, you can be fairly sure it will be a top-flight performance.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Joe Matarese, who grew up in nearby Cherry Hill, New Jersey, has played the theater in Bucks County before and they keep inviting him back.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On October 30, Matarese will headline a show at the theater with promising newcomer Shannon Fiedler as the opening act.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Matarese is currently touring his new standup show that is a nostalgic reflection of the life he had growing up in the 80\u2019s compared to today\u2019s disconnected staring at phones and computers all day and night. Matarese knows both generations having lived through one more than three decades ago and having a 14-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter dealing with life in 2020.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The name of the show is \u201cMullets and Mixtapes\u201d \u2013 things that are very familiar to those who came up through the era when MTV ruled the airwaves.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt is a show all about the 80s,\u201d said Matarese, during a phone interview Tuesday from his home in New Rochelle, New York.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI\u2019m doing shows in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Sellersville this weekend and then Fairfield, Connecticut next weekend. Then, I\u2019m filming the show for a comedy special on November 11 at the Emelin Theater in Mamaroneck, New York.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis is a show for no-one under 40 or over 60. It looks at the 80s. And it\u2019s also all about raising kids now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Matarese, \u201cMy objective is to create thought provoking original dramatic and comedic projects that weave the two genres together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Matarese grew up across the river in South Jersey during the days when Emerald City was a rock club in Cherry Hill that booked amazing acts (Alice Cooper, the Ramones, Beach Boys, Buzzcocks, Badfinger and lots more) and the Admiral Wilson Boulevard was a two-mile drive through Sin City.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI graduated from Cherry Hill East High School and then went to Camden County Community College,\u201d said Matarese. \u201cI started doing standup around the same time I was failing out of college.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI began doing standup full-time when I was 19. I started in Philly doing open mics at places like Comedy Works and Comedy Factory Outlet. I was in Philly for four years and then moved to New York.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In New York, Matarese upped his game to a whole new level.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBack then, there were a million gigs \u2013 bar gigs in New York and New Jersey,\u201d said Matarese.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI quickly broke into New York\u2019s main comedy shows. I got a lot of spots. It was like a training ground.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI was doing showcase clubs \u2013 Caroline\u2019s on Broadway, Gotham Comedy Club \u2013 along with road gigs. I got booked on MTV for Spring Break in Panama City in 1995.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since then, Matarese has made appearances on the most sought-after TV and radio shows, performing twice on\u00a0The Late Show with David Letterman, five times on\u00a0The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn\u00a0and\u00a0Craig Ferguson, four times at the\u00a0Montreal Comedy Festival, and receiving a standing ovation on\u00a0America\u2019s Got Talent in 2014.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the AGT website, \u201cJoe Matarese\u00a0was a stand-up comedian act from\u00a0Season 9\u00a0of\u00a0America&#8217;s Got Talent. He was eliminated during Judgment Week. Joe\u2019s completely autobiographical act pokes fun at his subtly dysfunctional Italian family, his own neuroses, life with a five-year-old, and a baby daughter, and his marriage to a psychologist (his perfect match).\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Matarese&#8217;s\u00a0audition\u00a0in\u00a0Episode 906\u00a0consisted of joking about topics such as signs of feeling old, pretending to care as a dad, and easily having a good time when away from his kids.\u00a0Howard Stern,\u00a0Heidi Klum,\u00a0Mel B, and\u00a0Howie Mandel\u00a0all voted &#8220;Yes,&#8221; sending Joe to Judgment Week. After his performance, his kids (ages 6 and 1) joined him on stage to hug and congratulate him.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cDoing that show was a lot of fun,\u201d said Matarese. \u201cWhen I did \u2018America\u2019s Got Talent,\u2019 I had little kids recognizing me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Matarese has been a guest on\u00a0The Howard Stern Show,\u00a0WTF with Marc Maron,\u00a0and\u00a0Chelsea Lately, had his very own\u00a0Comedy Central Presents\u00a0half-hour special, and currently has two one-hour specials on Amazon Prime \u2013 \u201cMedicated\u201d and \u201cThe Poster\u2019s Wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He has recorded seven standup albums that are currently in rotation on\u00a0SiriusXM, including \u201cQuiet Please,\u201d \u201cFixing Joe,\u201d \u201cDisconnected,\u201d \u201cWhen A Comedian Attacks,\u201d \u201cMedicated,\u201d \u201cThe Poster\u2019s Wrong\u201d and \u201cCompletely Present.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The veteran comic has performed in front of 18,000 people at the Wells Fargo Center alongside Bill Burr and Sebastian Maniscalco, as well as with Artie Lange at NYC\u2019s Carnegie Hall. New audiences are currently discovering his\u00a0comedy on\u00a0Tik Tok\u00a0with (108K followers) and growing daily\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/vm.tiktok.com\/TTPdYV4RrD\/\">https:\/\/vm.tiktok.com\/TTPdYV4RrD\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you attend Matarese\u2019s show Sunday at the Sellersville Theater, you\u2019ll be treated to a sneak preview of \u201cMullets and Mixtapes.\u201d And, despite what Matarese says, you\u2019ll be allowed into the show even if you\u2019re under 40 or over 60.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Video link for Joe Matarese &#8212; <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/yyiKCpaX4vw\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/yyiKCpaX4vw<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The show at the Sellersville Theater on October 30, which has Shannon Fiedler as the opener, willstart at<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tickets are $25 and $39.50.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times With this being Halloween Weekend, it is the perfect time for the staging of a world premiere of a new musical about a woman who is visited by ghosts. The Philadelphia Theatre Company (Suzanne Roberts Theatre,\u00a0480 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, www.philatheatreco.org) is about to bring the stage alive [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[6518,5664,13899,13900],"class_list":["post-40141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-featured","tag-stomp","tag-the-tattooed-lady","tag-zero"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40141"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40142,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40141\/revisions\/40142"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}